1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an abnormality displaying apparatus for an image forming apparatus such as a copier, and particularly to an abnormality displaying apparatus for an image forming apparatus which displays that an abnormality has occurred in any part of a sheet transporting path for transporting sheets such as printing sheets.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in some of image forming apparatuses such as a copier, when an abnormality such as a jam has occurred in any part of a sheet transporting path, the part where the abnormality has occurred is displayed on display means such as a display apparatus in an operation panel.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 8-245062 (1996) discloses a configuration in which, when a jam has occurred in any part of a sheet transporting path, a recording operation and an operation of transporting sheets are stopped, and the occurrence of the jam and the part of the occurrence are displayed.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 4-179654 (1992) discloses a configuration in which occurrence frequency of jams in each jamming point is numerically displayed and whether an abnormality has occurred in an apparatus is judged based on the occurrence frequency.
In this way, objects whose abnormality during transportation is displayed embrace all kinds of sheets which are to be transported in an image forming apparatus, including not only printing sheets but also original sheets and the like.
In order to perform maintenance such as part replacement or adjustment in a copier with appropriate timing, it is required to know history of abnormality occurrence states such as the occurrence frequency of jams in each jamming part and the total number of jam occurrences.
In the above-mentioned conventional art, the part where a jam has occurred or the occurrence frequency of jams is displayed, however, the display state is free from the occurrence history of jams. Accordingly in actual maintenance, a service man must check the operation status, e.g., in a simulation mode, or obtain jam information from an external terminal. As a result, it is difficult to carry out an inspection with inappropriate timing.
It is an object of the invention to provide an abnormality displaying apparatus for use in an image forming apparatus, useful for performing maintenance of the image forming apparatus with appropriate timing.
The invention comprises the following components as means for solving the problem.
The invention provides an abnormality displaying apparatus for use in an image forming apparatus, in which occurrence of an abnormality in any part of a sheet transporting path is detected and in which part of the sheet transporting path the abnormality has occurred is displayed, the abnormality displaying apparatus comprising:
display means for displaying the part of the sheet transporting path where the detected abnormality has occurred; and
control means for changing a display state of the display means in accordance with an occurrence status of the abnormality in the part of the sheet transporting path.
According to the invention, when an abnormality has occurred in any part of the sheet transporting path, the part where the abnormality has occurred is displayed on the display means in a display state which is different in accordance with an occurrence status of the abnormality in the part. Therefore, the part where the abnormality has occurred can be identified based on the display contents of the display means, and the occurrence status of the abnormality in the part can be known.
According to the invention, when an abnormality has occurred in any part of the sheet transporting path, the part where the abnormality has occurred is displayed on the display means in a display state which is different in accordance with an occurrence status of an abnormality in the part, whereby the part where the abnormality has occurred can be identified based on display contents on the display means, and the occurrence status of the abnormality in the part can be known. As a result, it is possible to easily judge whether a maintenance work is required or not, whereby a maintenance work can be performed with appropriate timing. Accordingly, the occurrence frequency of jams can be reduced and reduction of the running cost can be realized.
In the invention it is preferable that the abnormality displaying apparatus further comprises storage means for storing history information with respect to abnormality occurrence states in each of a plurality of parts of the sheet transporting path, and the control means changes the display state of the display means in accordance with the history information stored in the storage means.
According to the invention, when an abnormality has occurred in any part of the sheet transporting path, the abnormality occurrence status is stored in the storage means as history information, and the part where the abnormality has occurred is displayed on the display means in a display state corresponding to the history information in the storage means. Therefore, the part where the abnormality has occurred can be identified on the basis of the display state of the display means, and the history information relating to occurrence of an abnormality in the part is known as a factor for judging the necessity of a maintenance work.
According to the invention, when an abnormality has occurred in any part of the sheet transporting path, the state of abnormality occurrence can be stored in the storage means as history information, and the part where the abnormality has occurred can be displayed on the display means in a display state which is changed according to the history information in the storage means. When the display contents of the display means is visually checked, therefore, the part where the abnormality has occurred can be identified, and the history information relating to occurrence of an abnormality in the part can be easily known as a factor for judging the necessity of a maintenance work.
In the invention, it is preferable that the control means blinks a mark indicating the part where the abnormality has occurred.
In the invention, it is preferable that the control means changes a blinking period pattern of the mark in accordance with history information with respect to the part where the abnormality has occurred, the history information being stored in the storage means.
According to the invention, the mark indicative of the part where the abnormality has occurred is blinkingly displayed on the display means. Therefore, the part where the abnormality has occurred can be identified by the mark displayed on the display means.
According to the invention, the mark indicative of the part where the abnormality has occurred is blinkingly displayed on the display means at a period pattern according to history information which relates to abnormality occurrence in the part. Therefore, history information relating to abnormality occurrence in the part can be known from the period pattern at which the mark blinks.
According to the invention, the mark indicative of the part where the abnormality has occurred is blinkingly displayed on the display means, so that the part where the abnormality has occurred can be identified by the mark displayed on the display means.
According to the invention, the mark indicative of the part where the abnormality has occurred is blinkingly displayed on the display means at a period pattern according to history information which relates to abnormality occurrence in the part, so that history information relating to abnormality occurrence in the part can be promptly known from the blinking state of the mark.
In the invention, it is preferable that the control means changes a shape of the mark in accordance with the history information with respect to the part where the abnormality has occurred, the history information being stored in the storage means.
According to the invention, the mark indicative of the part where the abnormality has occurred is displayed on the display means in a shape according to history information which relates to abnormality occurrence in the part. Therefore, the part where the abnormality has occurred is identified by the mark displayed on the display means, and history information relating to abnormality occurrence in the part is known from the shape of the displayed mark.
According to the invention, the mark indicative of the part where the abnormality has occurred is displayed on the display means in a shape according to history information which relates to abnormality occurrence in the part, so that the part where the abnormality has occurred can be identified by the mark displayed on the display means, and history information relating to abnormality occurrence in the part can be promptly known from the shape of the displayed mark.